Across the territory of the erstwhile workers’ paradise, labor rights are eroding amid the spread of authoritarian practices.

An annual survey published by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) shows that workers generally face deteriorating conditions around the world, in terms of their ability to organize, bargain and ensure safe working environments.

“The rise of the far-right in the corridors of power has swiftly unleashed a wave of repressive and regressive measures designed to silence and weaken the independent union movement,” the survey states. “This assault on the basic rights and freedoms of workers erodes our democratic institutions and paves the way for increasingly authoritarian systems, where the interests of ordinary working people are sacrificed to benefit the wealthy and powerful.”

While the survey indicates the Asia-Pacific region in general has experienced marginal improvements in labor rights in recent years, conditions in formerly communist republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia – one-time constituent components of the Soviet Union, an entity established in 1924 in the name of workers – have moved toward a darker shade of grim.

The ITUC, which represents 200 million workers in 170 countries, singled out Georgia as the country in Eurasia where labor rights have experienced the most significant decline over the past year. The country’s government, dominated by the Georgian Dream party, moved swiftly in 2024 to dismantle democratic institutions, adopting laws designed to cement the party in power and muzzle all forms of dissent.

The so-called ‘foreign agents’ law adopted in May 2024, for example, not only impacts non-governmental organizations in Georgia, but also trade unions, which tend to have lots of foreign contacts and receive support from abroad. The law, which imposes burdensome reporting requirements on entities that receive over 20 percent of revenue from abroad, has had the effect of restricting trade union activity, the survey notes. As a result, the ITUC downgraded Georgia from its Category 3 list, or countries that experience regular violations of rights, to Category 4, or countries with systemic rights violations.

“Collectively, the legislation [adopted in 2024] severely undermines civil liberties and trade union rights. As a result, Georgia was downgraded,” the survey states.

Armenia now is the only formerly Soviet state in the Caucasus or Central Asia that is considered a Category 3 state by the ITUC. Along with Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan find themselves in Category 4. Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were not ranked. “Countries where information about workers’ rights is too scarce or cannot be verified in line with our methodology were not included in this year’s analysis,” the survey notes.

The ITUC ranking system is based on a variety of factors, including the general civil liberties climate in a country. The survey also measured labor rights, specifically the ability to establish and join trade unions, conduct routine activities and collectively bargain, and the right to strike.

“The findings of this year’s ITUC Global Rights Index present further proof that our democratic freedoms are under attack by an ever-smaller number of people in control of an increasingly disproportionate slice of the pie,” the survey states.